Isenblast  are  a  band  from  Michigan  that  takes  a  90's  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  some  first  wave  BM  and  death  metal  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Unleashing  The  Demon  Scourge"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  In  Satan's  Custody and  Death  Breath  Records.

  A  very  old  school  and  raw  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  starts  to  go  into  a  more  fast  80's  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  black/death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  are  very  chaotic  yet  melodic  at  the  same  time.

  You  can  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  on  the  second  track  the  music  starts  having  more  of  a  raw  90's  black  metal  feeling  while  also  adding  a  good  amount  of  death  metal elements  into  the  mid  paced  sections  of  the  music  as  well  as  having  a  brief  solo  that  follows  the  same  musical  direction  and  they  also  bring  in  more  of  a  melodic  black  metal  approach  on  the following  tracks  and  they  also  expand  on  it  by  bring  a  small  amount  of  thrash  influences  which  also  have  a  very  dominating  presence  on  the  last  song  which  also  sees  the  band  adding  in  a  mixture  of  both  1st  and  2nd  wave  BM.

  Isenblast  takes  the  raw  and  melodic  black  metal  side  and  expands  on  it  by  adding  in  some  first  wave  black  metal  elements  and  a  a  decent  amount  of  death  metal  influences  to  create  some  music  that  is  very  heavy  and  blasphemous,  the  production  has  a  very  raw  and  powerful  sound   while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  and  Evil  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Isenblast  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  1st  and  2nd  wave  black  metal  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unleashing  the  Demon  Scourge"  and  "Seven  gates".  8  out  of  10.   

  Vixenta  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  depressive  and  post  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Predation".

   A  very  dark  ambient  sounding  synth  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  slow  and  raw  black  metal  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  atmospheric  background  and  after  a  few  seconds  high  pitched  screams  and  depressive  sounding  melodies  find  their  way  into  the  bands  musical  style.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  add  more  to  the  melodic  side  of  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  clean  parts  and  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  bring  in  more  of  a  post  rock  influence  to  the  songs  and  throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Some  of  the  synths  the  band  uses  bring  in  a  very  epic  sound  which  is  also  a  perfect  fit  for  the  depressive  riffs  and  vocals  and  as  the  ep  progresses  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of    a  slow  post  black  metal  direction  while  still  retaining  the  melancholic  elements  of  their  musical  style  and  the  last  2  songs  are  bonus  tracks  with  last  a  cover  of  Burzum's  "Black  Spell  Of  Destruction"  which  also  has  a  bass  line  that  is  more  powerful  sounding  than  the  original  version.

  Vixenta  continues  their  raw  and  melodic  mixture  of  depressive  and  post  black  metal  on  this  recording  as  well  as  adding  more  atmospheric  and  guitar  leads  into  the  music  and  they  also  show  they  have  improved  a  lot  as  musicians  over  the  years,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  loss  and  downward  spiral  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Vixenta  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  depressive,  raw  and  melodic  post  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Predation"  "Sea  of  Sorrow  2014".  8  out  of  10.         

  Zom  are  a  band  from  Ireland  that  plays  a  very  raw,  brutal  and  bestial  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Flesh  Assimilation"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Dark  Descent  Records.

  Dark  and  evil  demonic  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  tortured  voices  before going  into  a  very  fast,  raw  and  brutal  war/black  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  a  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  You  can  hear  some  elements  of  crustcore  in  the  vocals  and  song  structures  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  bring  back  an  old  school  black/death  metal  sound  to  the  bands  musical  style  while  some  of  the  rhythm's  utilize  some  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  they  also  use  the  samples  from  the  first  track  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  ritualistic  and  occult  feeling  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  harsh  sounding  distortion.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  the  90's  war  metal  sound  throughout  the  recording  as  well  as  some  thrash  metal  influences  being  added  into  the  guitar  riffing  at  times  while  in  some  of  the  slower  sections  you  can  hear elements  of  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  

  Zom  goes  back  to  the  90's  style  of  bestial  black  and  war  metal  and  combines  them  with  the  darker  side  of  death  metal  as  well  as  bringing  in  elements  of  doom  and  thrash  metal  to  create  an  album  that  is  very  dark,  raw,  heavy,  brutal  and  old  school  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  perversion,  sorcery,  cosmos  and  death.

  In  my  opinion  Zom  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  brutal  and  bestial  mixture  of  black,  war  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tombs  Of  The  Void"  "Gates  To  Beyond"  and  "Flesh  Assimilation".  8/5  out  of  10.     

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Austin: Sure, we started Funeralbloom a couple years ago under a different name, The Measure Of. We played more of a melodic-hardcore/post-rock mix and had a couple releases and a tour under our belt. Our sound gradually began to change more and more until our band was almost unrecognizable to what we had started as. We don’t even live in the same place as when we started the band. Although we are still listed as being from Austin, and we still consider it the band’s home, none of us actually live there anymore as we’re all spread around Texas with members in Houston, Ft. Worth, Temple, San Marcos, and Pflugerville. With “Petals”, we were finally able to write the caliber of an album that we had always aspired to, and it’s one that I feel very accurately represents who we are as people and where our passions lie.

2.In August, you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Nick: When we were writing "Petals" we wanted to create movement in our songs, and allow each part enough room to breathe. We wanted to create a dark atmosphere that could move from long intense sections, to slow and emotional drones.  We wanted to add as much atmosphere to black metal-esque parts as possible, then incorporate several musical techniques from post-punk, gothic and post-metal.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Austin: The lyrics deal a lot with inadequacy and hopelessness. The feeling that you’re never going to be able to pull yourself out of your current situation and that all the anguish you’re feeling is permanent. There’s a large focus on the self in terms of selfishness and selflessness and how they can become blurred inside of a relationship. Inside of this relationship there is a large focus on the sentimental aspects between the two people and how these feeling and actions are portrayed as amorously idiosyncratic.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Funeralbloom’?
Nick: As Austin was saying earlier, we used to be called The Measure Of, but we have changed so much as people, and a band, that we decided we should probably change the name.  We like to play with dark/light imagery and aesthetics in our music and lyrics, so we needed a name that portrayed the feelings we wanted to express.  It also could be a play on the “death” of The Measure Of, and the beginning of the new chapter for our band.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Austin: I think my favorite show that we have played so far was in May when we played with Circle Takes The Square. It was definitely an honor and we felt absolutely privileged to be able to play with them. Our stage performance is a strange thing. It has a certain element of theatrics and like a lot of things with our band, it plays on the dark and light. Our band dresses in basically funeral attire while there are either purple, red, or white flowers everywhere. Usually by the end of the set the stage or floor is completely adorned in petals. A lot of people frankly don’t know how to react during our sets. Sometimes people start to mosh, but then quickly begin to realize that for the most part our music is not very “moshable”. We play music that one could easily relax and fall asleep to and at other times could be used for an adrenaline rush while running or at the gym. I think we can all agree though we strive to make our live show as intense and visually pleasing as possible.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Nick: We are planning a two week winter tour of the east coast and mid-west of the United States.  We will also be looking to play the Austin, Texas area soon.

7.The ep was released on cassette by Broken World Media, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Austin: Yeah, they’re a label run out of Connecticut by Derrick from the band The World is a Beautiful Place. Almost all of the bands on the label except for us fall more into the Indie and Emo spectrum so we definitely seem to stick out a lot. But, fans of the label have definitely been incredibly receptive to us and the relationship doesn’t seem too strange, because before this release we had done pretty much everything DIY. So we played with a lot of screamo, emo, and indie bands so that’s where a lot of the bands we became friends with and the connections we made came from. We’re just really thankful that Derrick believed in us and took a chance on something that was so much different than what the label had previously put out.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal and ambient?
 Nick: Overall, the response to “Petals” has been positive.  We have found that we have a lot of fans from Russia, and that is amazing to me. The response and reception of “Petals” was a lot more widespread than I had imagined it would be. I am quite pleased with the feedback we have received so far. I am even more amazed by the fact that we have actually reached a worldwide audience.  I, for one, never thought that would happen like it did. However, we aren’t everyones cup of tea in respects to those two genres. Fans of our more atmospheric and ambient parts have said that they think blast beats deserve no place in our kinda of music, and fans of our more black metal parts sometimes don’t relate to the baritone vocals that we incorporate into our songs.

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects?

Austin: I’m currently involved in a darkwave project called Argue with my friend Matt from the band Illustrations. We released a couple songs earlier this year and there is definitely more in the works. https://soundcloud.com/argueuntildeath

Also, our drummer Tyler plays in band called Clear Acid.

10.When  can we expect another full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Nick: We don’t currently have plans to release another full length any time soon, but we have been writing a few songs for something we hope to release sometime in 2015.  We are experimenting with many new things for our new material.  So far, what we are coming up with will be more post-metal than “Petals” while still retaining the post-black metal and ambient influences.  You should expect the new songs to feel darker, yet still contain positive rises and crescendos.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Nick: While I love post-black metal, I think that ambient and atmospheric music has the biggest impact on my guitar playing and writing.  Most of the guitar parts in “Petals” have a significant amount of reverb or delay, which is reminiscent of ambient styles of music.  Since I think Jad is the same way when it comes to his guitar parts, we are then able to amplify these parts with other elements of heavier genres. Right now I am listening to the new This Will Destroy You album, Hope Drone and Toluca.
Austin: I’m definitely influenced by a lot of 80’s post-punk and darkwave. Bands like The Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, Bauhaus, and Depeche Mode have been very influential in my vocal style and lyrics. I’m also known to be a tad bit Morrissey obsessed so many things he has done have leaked their way into our music. Currently I’ve been jamming his new album a ton along with the new Leonard Cohen and Merchandise albums.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Nick: Coffee is a big interest of mine, and basically keeps me functioning throughout the day. I also enjoy watching wrestling with some of the other members of Funeralbloom.  I'm also about to graduate from college with two majors, so that has been taking up a lot of my time that I am not devoting to music.
Austin: I’m pretty happy that soccer season has started because I’m a big Chelsea supporter. Unfortunately I’ve had to work a lot on weekends so far this year, but whenever I can I try to make it to the pub to watch the matches with a big group of supporters. Besides that I’m also a wrestling fan and get way to upset and complain about the lowest form of art.

 13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
just thanks for the kind words about the album and for your time

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
Greetings, blasphemous readers and chaos mongers from Hell!
Well, I can tell you we are already composing new stuff for a 7? ep to be recorded late this year and rehearsing hard for the upcoming gigs.

2.At the end of June you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound of the newer recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
  Our new album is far more mature than our debut effort. It?s the same musical purpose on a more adult level.

3.On your facebook page you label your music as 'New Wave Of Portuguese Proudly Obsolete Black Speed/Thrash Metal, can you tell us a little bit more about this tag?
  N.W.O.P.P.O.B.S.T.M is just a joke, really! In reality, it does not even define our musical approach in its entirety, it?s just  some nonsense crap i posted on facebook without even thinking too much about it. Still, some truth resides in it!

4.You have covered some occult topics with the new album, how would you describe your views on Occultism?
  Occultism is a huge motivation for me, as i see no interest in the mundane. Our lyrics revolve around religion, occultism, witchcraft, cosmology, mithology and everything beyond the visible and palpable.
The true power lies beyond the senses.

5.On the new album you had songs in both Portuguese and English, what was the decision behind writing in 2 different languages on the new recording?
  There?s no rational reason to justify that, really. It just happened! Some songs had a Lusitanian feel to it and some others  were blatantly anglo saxonic (at least from my point of view).
I really didn?t think much about it and let things instinctively flow.

6.Originally the band was called 'Black hammer' but know has the same name but in Portuguese, can you tell us a little bit more about the band name?
  The band name is a mere metaphor for the dark forces that drive the band. The name change was a suggestion from a friend (Belathauzer- Filii Nigrantium Infernalium?s mastermind).
The fact is that Martelo Negro is less cliché than Black Hammer, even though the essence is the same. Also, as a moniker, Martelo Negro is far more mysterious than Black Hammer, i guess....

7.Originally the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind forming a full line up?
  I guess that, at a certain point in time, it just became too serious for me as soon as i realized i wouldn?t want to remain confined to the walls of my bedroom, programming lousy drum machines and living in misanthropic  burzumesque isolation. Heavy Metal is supposed to be celebrated on stage, even though there?s nothing wrong about one building a career as a one man project and refusing to play live.
  It?s just a matter of artistic direction and personal choices. Hail Quorthon!

8.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
  The 2014 edition of Steel Warriors Rebellion was a huge moment for us, as it was the 2012 edition of Degredo Metal Fest at Covilhã (crazy, crazy bangers and moshers!).
I would say we are a very intense band, even though we are all
heavywheight veterans reaching 40.

9.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
  There are no plans for touring, except for some one-off gigs here and there. We all have complicated professional and familiar lives that don?t allow us to play live as much as it is desirable.
Still, we have plans to play abroad, even though we cannot do it on an extensive level due to the reasons i exposed.

10.The new album was released on HelldProd, can you can us a little bit more about this label?
  HelldProd is a label focused on the real shit and we are very proud for being part of what they have been doing for the past 20 years.
No trends, no fashion! That?s what they are about! Apart from that, Helldprod is a very hardworking label, headed by people who know what professionalism is about.
Just take a look at the label?s catalogue and let all doubts be dissipated!

11.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your new album by fans of extreme metal?
  Well, taking into consideration the album was released on a very limited edition (300 copies LP), i can only speak about a dozen of very positive reviews.
As for Portugal, the feedback has been great so far, as I believe we have finally gained the respect we have aimed for in the past 8 years.

12.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects that some of the band members are involved with?
  Well, Melkor?s other band (Neoplasmah) is about to release a new album after a few years of inactivity.
Me and Thamuz are working on the debut cd of Bathürzüm (fast and destructive black metal with some Voivod influences) and i have my own personal project called Black Blood Whoracle going on (also fast black metal with some Sarcófago/Blasphemy/Beherit influences).
Our drummer Maalm is currently playing with Atentado and Filii Nigrantium Infernalium.
We also have a funeral doom thing going by the name Capela dos Ossos, with Pedra from Grog on the vocals.
I can say we keep ourselves very, very busy when it comes to making music related stuff.

13.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
  I guess we won?t change much during the course of the years. We feel really comfortable doing this kind of primitive thing and our goal is to keep our music rooted in the 80?s.
That does not mean we are heading towards stagnation, we just feel we can do interesting and refreshing stuff without abandoning the elements that define what Martelo Negro is about.
But as far as innovating anything, I guess not! Reinventing METAL means disaster, or at least that?s the way I see it.

14.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Well, the obvious stuff, I guess.
We have always been death metal fans, specially death metal from the 80?s crust, speed metal, thrash metal, etc Our most prominent influence is Hellhammer and Celtic Frost but, personally, I?ve always been a huge Iron Maiden fan...
We also have a huge grindcore background, since we all played in grind bands in the past...
It?s kind of complicated to define our influences because we are, in a very abrasive and extensive way, extreme music fans.
I, personally, listen to everything that sounds honest and true. I?m really into stuff like Anaal Nathrakh, Absu, old Carcass, Electric Wizard, Incantation, old Maiden, old Anthrax, old Slayer, Darkthrone, Carnivore, etc.
Complete musical schizophrenia!

  15.What are some of your non musical interests?
  I would say that some of our non musical interests are the things that our music is about: occultism, witchcraft and (anti)religion.
We are not huge sport fans (except soccer) and no one in the band is into bricolage, crochet, dancing, stamps collections or cooking...

  16.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you very much for this interview!
Please, keep up with what we are doing here in this forsaken piece of land and stay true to yourselves. Keep it metal! DIE HARD!